Month: August 2016

Forming the Team: Team Work 101

Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning.

Tuckman Part 1 – Managing the Forming Stage

Forming the team is an essential part of the Tuckman model of how groups/teams develop. Most groups go through a formation process like that described by Dr Tuckman. If you understand the model it can help you to lead, manage and facilitate teams and work groups more effectively.

Some group leaders find the stages uncomfortable – they can be challenging to handle. Some stages seem slow and a waste of precious work time. But if you go through them, it means a more cohesive and efficient work-group is formed – a group that allows everyone to contribute their best!

A skilled manager can observe the stages happening and help the process along. That means you get the best outcome for all in the least time.

Forming the team

When they first come together in a group, people are cautious. Usually, they want to get to know each other and get on with the task. But, they might be a bit anxious. They are usually tentative and tend to check each other out. Generally, they are polite and somewhat reserved.

The group wants to work out how they should behave. At this stage, they are not likely to challenge each other or you, as their leader. They want to understand properly why they are there – what is the task and what is this really about? The group wants to know what they are being asked to do and how they are expected to do it.

No one feel very comfortable. Perhaps there any hidden agendas.

They are looking for the “ground rules”.

This stage can feel frustrating for the leader, because things can feel as if they are moving very slowly.

Lead the group through forming the team

So what can you do? Well, you need to provide a safe environment in which the group can operate and you need to set some goals for them to achieve.

But let then have some time to get to know each other! Therefore, allow people an opportunity to share their hopes and their anxieties. You might recognise now why trained facilitators put so much store by ice-breakers.

If you pace the group carefully, they will move through forming the team and not get stuck. Encourage them all to contribute.

What if they get stuck in Stage 1 – Forming the Team

If they get stuck then you will need to become more directive.

Involve them in setting the goals

Let them air their reservations.

Get those ground rules out in the open air

Get people to agree the ground rules.

Support anyone who shows reticence so that their confidence develops.

Then stand by because you need to go through Stage 2 Storming before the real work begins. Stage 2 can be turbulent. Information on how to handle that stage will follow here shortly.

Other posts on the Tuckman model are to follow.

Wendy Smith is a career consultant, life coach and business coach with depth of experience in management, coaching and personal development. That experience means she is equally at home helping clients find a new career direction, starting-up new businesses or dealing with life’s more challenging personal issues. You can contact her at wendy@wisewolfcoaching.com

Wendy has written a little eBook on how to get on with your boss and a book on job search – you can find her books on Amazon at this link

Job Search Tips

Job Search Tips to Help You Stand Out

Wendy Smith; Career Coach and author of The WiseWolf Job Search Pocket Book – order on Amazon

Job Search Tips – applying for work? Here are some tips to help!

1. Read the job description. Oh so many people don’t do this. Or, they don’t do it with enough care. When you have read it decide carefully whether you can actually do the job before you apply. 2. Accept the gift of Key Words. Incorporate Key Words used in the job description into your resume and cover letter so that you make the right bells ring. But, again, do it with care – sprinkle rather than bombard. 3. Talk about what you have accomplished. Do this in your resume and during the interview. Illustrate answers with your achievements. Show how you can do the same good job for the potential employer. 4. Create your resume first even when filling in an online application form – then you can cut and post from it. Please check it very carefully for typos. 5. Research, research, research; the company, the people (you can used LinkedIn) and the position. If you are called for an interview, you need to able to show you understand what they are about and what they need. 6. Prepare, prepare, and prepare for the interview. Have a battery of descriptions of what you have achieved, and how, lined up to show how you fit their needs. Think through your attitude to past employers and emphasise the positive – never be tempted to be critical – they’ll worry you will do the same to them. 7. Remember your manners and send a thank you email afterwards offering more information if they need it. The thank you note may be the thing that marks you out if they are wavering.

You can find more help for your job search in the “The WiseWolf Job Search Pocket Book: How to Win Jobs and Influence Recruiters.” Find this and my other books on my Amazon page at this link; http://ow.ly/BRSAL .

Working with a coach really can help you find job search success. Get in touch at the email address below – I offer a free half hour trial session by phone or Skype.

Wendy Smith is a career consultant, life coach and business coach with depth of experience in organisational development, management, coaching and personal development. That experience means she is equally at home helping clients find a new career direction, starting-up new businesses or dealing with life’s more challenging personal issues. You can contact her at wendy@wisewolfcoaching.com

Coaching Online and Phone Coaching – Advantages and Disadvantages

Wendy Smith is a Career and Life Coach who has run a successful online coaching practice for some years. You can book a FREE coaching session or find out more at this link

Coaching online and phone coaching have advantages but also some disadvantages. I was asked a little while ago about providing coaching online and phone coaching. So, I thought you might be interested to read my answers

Interviewer: How do you communicate with clients online? What are the strengths and limitations of each approach?

Wendy: I use three different ways of communicating with clients on line. So, I use phone/skype, email and instant messaging.

Phone or Skype

The strengths of phone coaching (or by Skype) include convenience and comfort for the client. They are able to receive coaching where, and usually when, they choose. For most, this will be at home or somewhere else familiar to them. So, they do not have to add travel to a coaching location at the end of a busy working day. Also it means I’m happy to coach them much later in the evening or at weekends. Phone (or Skype with the camera switched off) is often easier for clients who feel shy and exposed when sharing intimate feelings.

I’ve been working with clients by phone and Skype for several years now. That means that I am very much attuned to nuances of voice and other sound clues. It takes a lot of practice to work with clients, particularly new ones, without visual clues. I do occasionally work through Skype with the camera switched on, of course. Working with voice only, it is really important to build up trust and the relationship quickly. For me, much of that depends upon authenticity.

Email

The major disadvantage of email is that it is asynchronous. It can take time to get a reply. With email (and text) both coach and client need to agree when replies can be expected. Also, how privacy will be managed. The initial relationship can be much harder to establish. It requires patience from both coach and client. As well as being able to choose the location and time for the exchange, there is another a major advantage for email. Both the client and the coach have a record they can refer to. Plus you can take time to reflect on what you want to write and the answer given.

Instant Messaging and Text

Communicating by instant message is quick. Again, the client can choose the location they write from. But, there can be issues of privacy if other people have access to the same computer or phone. Often, I use text with established clients to deal with issues that might arise between session. It is really hard to get a clear picture of the issues this way with a new client. It isn’t my method of choice.

Recently in my own coaching practice, the phone and Skype have been my main methods of communicating with clients. I usually combine this with email between sessions. Plus I use a little instant messaging and texting as I’ve described above.

Interviewer: In your opinion, what elements need to be in place in order to create a coaching relationship online or by phone? In what ways does this differ from face-to-face coaching?

Trust

Wendy: Coaching online or off requires an agreement between the coach and client about the service to be provided. And, for online coaching this is a priority. Both coach and client need the right environment in which to work! They need privacy and the opportunity to develop trust. This is in the medium as well as in each other.

Both client and coach need to be comfortable. And they need know that they will not interrupted. This can be difficult with a computer on the kitchen table. The coach and client both need to know they cannot be overlooked or over-heard. The equipment used needs to be reliable with good security cover.

Agreement

With phone coaching, you need to agree not only what time you will ring but also who calls whom and on what number. Before beginning a conversation, a coach needs to move very quickly into active listening. The success of this kind of coaching is all about careful and sensitive listening.

In using email, there needs to be clear agreement about turnaround times. The client needs to understand that messages can sometimes go astray. Special arrangements need to be made for the coach’s absence. For example, when the coach goes on holiday.

With instant messaging and text, the use of language needs particular care. Language is important – for example when working with young clients. The coach may have to learn a whole new language, particularly with instant messaging. .

For me the advantages of online coaching vastly outweigh the disadvantages massively. I’ve run a successful coaching practice online for several years now.

Wendy Smith is a career consultant, life coach and business coach with depth of experience in helping people lead happier lives and feel more fulfilled. She has worked in management as well as coaching and personal development, as well as starting up her own businesses. That means she is equally at home helping clients find a new career direction, starting-up a new business or dealing with life’s more challenging personal issues.

Need help finding work, with problems at work, at home or with relationships? Book a FREE coaching session with Wendy or find out more at this link

Wednesday Quotes Inspire Your Job Search

Our Wednesday quotes really will inspire and motivate you job search

Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ‘em, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it. Theodore Roosevelt

Our work is the presentation of our capabilities. Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Never give up. No matter how many times you tried, or how many times you failed, always keep trying and always believe. Author Unknown

Each time we face a fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing. Author Unknown

Success comes from taking the initiative and following up… persisting… What simple action could you take today to produce a new momentum toward success in your life? Tony Robbins

One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation. Arthur Ashe

You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. Christopher Robin

One of the best things you can do when the world is storming around you is to pause. Mitch Thrower

Good luck happens when preparedness meets opportunity Bret Harte

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. Thomas A. Edison

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. John Wooden

Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle. Christian D. Larson

“Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise. Author Unknown

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up. Thomas Edison

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Wendy Smith is a career consultant, life coach and business coach with depth of experience in management, coaching and personal development. That experience means she is equally at home helping clients find a new career direction, starting-up new businesses or dealing with life’s more challenging personal issues. You can contact her at wendy@wisewolfcoaching.com

Wendy has written a little eBook on how to get on with your boss and a book on job search – you can find her books on Amazon at this link

Creating a sense of urgency

Leading Change the Kotter Way

Creating a sense of urgency is Step One in the well-established Kotter model of leading change. But what exactly does that mean?

After 30 years of research, Dr John Kotter believes that most major change initiatives fail mainly because organisations don’t commit to seeing the change through and don’t take a holistic approach throughout. He has demonstrated that his 8 step process provides the most credible way of delivering and embedding large-scale organisational change.

You have to work really hard

When I put the words ‘creating a sense of urgency’ into a search engine, I came up with all kinds of great ideas! For example, inspiring the team to work together towards a goal! Lots of pleasant and positive stuff. Sounds good doesn’t it – makes you feel good! The problem is that, sadly, these positive ideas don’t work if you want to make fundamental change in an organisation.

Kotter reckons that for change to be successful, 75% of a company’s management needs to “buy into” the change. In other words, you have to really work hard on Step One, and spend significant time and energy creating a sense urgency, before moving onto the next steps. Unfortunately, there are no pleasant and easy answers.

It is hard to persuade groups of people to move a long way out of their comfort zone! They will not move unless they understand that staying where they are is not an option! That means convincing them that staying where they are is going to be painful, or is simply no longer possible.

As my old lecturer in change management said somewhere back in the 90s – unless the pain of staying where you are is greater than the pain of moving, you usually stay put! He started the lecture with a picture of an amoeba and gave us a lecture on the fundamentals of stimulus! He was pretty focused on the importance of creating a sense of urgency. Without it, there would be no fundamental change!

So what can you do for your group? It isn’t as simple as just showing them the sales figures, or other written evidence of need, and expecting them to respond. You need to work with them. Go through the figures and then help them think through the consequences of doing nothing! Make it real. Not just consequences for the organisation, but for them. Help them to ask; “What will it mean for me in six months if nothing changes?”

Let them understand and absorb the threat. Then, work with them to think through options for the future and how they can move forward.

Share the pain and then show how you can share the gain.

Show them what they have to gain from making a change. This may not be much but there will always be something! If the facts mean potential redundancies, work out how can you work together to mitigate the effects.

Are there new working patterns that you can adopt, for example, flexible or short-time working? Are there new markets to explore. What do they know about that might be helpful?

But, be careful. There is a difference between sharing the pain so that together you can make a change and creating panic. There is a big difference between creating a sense of urgency and throwing things into chaos.

Do your homework before you start.

You are the leader and you need to remain in the leadership seat. Keep your nerve. It won’t be easy but then no one said being a leader was easy! Prepare well – you will face some challenging questions!

Don’t be naive! When they leave your meeting or presentation, the rumour mill will get to work. So, follow up with good information. Keep the communications flowing about your plans. Always be prepared to answer questions and be available. There will be some questions afterwards that they wished they’d asked at the meeting.

If you have experience of creating a sense or urgency, please share your war stories. If you have a change to make – I hope things go very well for you! In the meantime if you need help please get in touch, I’ve been there before you.

Wendy Smith is a career consultant, life coach and business coach with depth of experience in management, coaching and personal development. That experience means she is equally at home helping clients find a new career direction, starting-up new businesses or dealing with life’s more challenging personal issues. You can contact her at wendy@wisewolfcoaching.com

Wendy has written a little eBook on how to get on with your boss and a book on job search – you can find her books on Amazon at this link

Creating a Powerful Guiding Coalition

Leading Change the Kotter Way

Information from Wendy Smith. Wendy is a Career and Life Coach helping you find fresh perspectives on life and your career. You can book a FREE coaching session or find out more at this link

Creating a powerful guiding coalition is perhaps the most challenging element of the Kotter model. I’ve written quite a bit here about the Kotter approach to leading change and I am in process of revamping my original Kotter model series. This post deals with that difficult Stage Two; forming a powerful coalition to lead and manage the change. Links to the other stages are in the next paragraph.

In a world requiring ultimate flexibility, an organisation’s ability to deal successfully with change is a key ingredient in its overall success.

Step Two – Creating a Powerful Guiding Coalition

No one person, however competent, is capable single-handedly of completing all the tasks required in leading a large organisation through change. The tasks include;

developing the right vision,

communicating it to vast numbers of people,

eliminating all of the obstacles,

generating short-term wins,

leading and managing dozens of change projects

anchoring new approaches deep in an organisation’s culture.

Putting together the right people to lead and manage the change is critical to its success. It needs visible support from key people through-out your organisation. You must find the right people, instil in them a significant level of trust and develop a shared objective.

Those people need to have the right credibility within the organisation. Otherwise things will go limp and the change will simply go to pieces and fritter away. This will leave the organisation weaker than it was before.

Create a team of leaders and managers that can act in concert and make productive decisions. The decisions need to be taken seriously by all the group! Managers in the team will keep the process under control, while leaders drive the change. Some times people can both lead and manage but don’t assume you will find both talents in the same people.

An effective guiding coalition

An effective guiding coalition should have;

Position Power: Enough key players on board so that those left out cannot block progress.

Expertise: All relevant points of view should be represented so that informed and intelligent decisions can be made.

Credibility: The group should be seen and respected by all so that the group’s pronouncements will be taken seriously by others.

Leadership: The group should have enough proven leaders able to drive the change process.

Creating a powerful guiding coalition means the team needs to develop trust in one another. They need a shared goal so that they can make the needed change happen, despite all of the forces of inertia and resistance they may find.

Wendy Smith is a career consultant, life coach and business coach with depth of experience in helping people lead happier lives and feel more fulfilled. She has worked in management as well as coaching and personal development, as well as starting up her own businesses. That means she is equally at home helping clients find a new career direction, starting-up a new business or dealing with life’s more challenging personal issues.

Need help finding work, with problems at work, at home or with relationships? Book a FREE coaching session with Wendy or find out more at this link

This leadership model is designed as a practical tool for developing a person’s leadership presence. Plus, as well as, their know-how and skill. It summarises what leaders need to do. This is not only to bring leadership to their group or organisation. But also to develop themselves as leaders.

The Three Levels of Leadership model combines the strengths of older leadership theories. These include the traits, behavioural/styles, situational and functional models. It addresses their limitations. And, it offers a foundation for leaders who want to apply the philosophies of servant-leadership. Hence, it is for those who are committed to “authentic leadership”.

This approach is often classified as an “Integrated Psychological” theory of leadership. And it is sometimes known as the 3P model. The three Ps stand for Public, Private and Personal leadership.

The first two levels – public and private leadership

The first two levels, public and private leadership, are “outer” or “behavioural” levels. Scouller distinguishes between influencing two or more people at the same time. This is what he calls “public leadership.” It is distinguished from selecting and influence individuals one to one. Therefore, influencing people one to one he calls private leadership.

So, he lists 34 distinct “public leadership” behaviours.

The third level – personal leadership

The third level is personal leadership. This is an “inner” level. And it concerns a person’s leadership presence, know-how, skills, beliefs. It includes their emotions and unconscious habits.

“At its heart is the leader’s self-awareness, his progress toward self-mastery and technical competence, and his sense of connection with those around him. It’s the inner core, the source, of a leader’s outer leadership effectiveness.” (Scouller, 2011).

Therefore, he lists 14 “private leadership” behaviours.

Finally, the idea is that if leaders want to be effective they must work on all three levels in parallel.

Wendy Smith is a career consultant, life coach and business coach with depth of experience in helping people lead happier lives and feel more fulfilled. She has worked in management as well as coaching and personal development, as well as starting up her own businesses. That means she is equally at home helping clients find a new career direction, starting-up a new business or dealing with life’s more challenging personal issues.

Need help finding work, with problems at work, at home or with relationships? Book a FREE coaching session with Wendy or find out more at this link

When Panic Becomes the Norm at Work!

Work panic is more common than you may realise.

A culture at work that accepts panic as normal leads to lots of unhappiness and stress. Your quality of work falls and often it is a home for bullies.

Many moons ago I worked for an organization where panic was the cultural norm. If people were not running round the corridors screaming at each other about what needed to be done, the boss thought they were too stupid to understand the priorities. If not that, then he thought they lacked motivation.

That culture led to lots of unhappiness and a significant amount of bullying. On top of that, the quality of the work delivered was never better than just good enough and often not that. Given this was a finance section responsible in those days for overseeing huge budgets, the results were pretty disastrous.

The experience of panic

I went into the section with a reputation as a good manager who was capable of first rate work. But I lacked the confidence necessary to reject the culture. By the end of six months, I was panicking and shouting at people too.

One day the consequences were brought home to me in a way that is still painful to remember. At a performance review, a member of my team had the courage to tell me what effect my behaviour, as his manager, was having on him. I have never felt more ashamed.

His courage gave me the confidence to confront my own manager about the climate he and I had created. He didn’t like hearing it and he didn’t want to change. In the end, when I threatened to move, he agreed to try another way. It wasn’t easy for him but he made the effort and we were lucky that the team gave us the benefit of the doubt and were prepared to work with us. The results were impressive and we never went back to “running round like headless chickens”.

What about you?

Do you work in an organisation where panic is the norm? What is it like to work there and what is the effect on you and your own standards? Don’t wait as long as I did to accept that change is needed. Do what you can to bring about that change.

If you can’t bring about change, then move on. Think whether you will want to look back and remember this experience. Do you really want to share responsibility for the harm it can cause you and the people round you?

If you need help handling a problem at work please get in touch. Remember I offer a trial free half hour coaching session by phone or Skype.

Wendy Smith is a career, life and business coach with depth of experience in management, coaching and personal development. That experience means she is equally at home helping clients find a new career direction, starting-up new businesses or dealing with life’s more challenging personal issues. You can book a discussion with Wendy about your coaching needs and your personal development at this link

Wendy has written a little eBook on how to get on with your boss and a book on job search – you can find her books on Amazon at this link

Personal Development Mindset

What is a personal development mindset?

Having a personal development mindset means that you take responsibility for understanding yourself as an individual and for identifying and developing your

own strengths and talents. It means you take control and become responsible for your own life and what you make of it. You begin to manage your own success and happiness. But you can receive support from others in developing the mindset and in helping you to develop yourself.

Personal development includes understanding your values and living in accordance with them. This in turn helps to strengthen your self-image and self-esteem. Then, you begin to be able to see your own potential and you can work towards fulfilling it, in your both your work and in your home life.

Personal development enables you to;

Expect to succeed in your own terms,

Take risks that are right for you and set challenging goals,

Keep working patiently until you reach your goal.

Having a personal development mindset means you are;

Optimistic about the future even in hard times

Self-confident and believe in your own abilities

A self-starter who takes action – there can be no success without action

Open to new ideas wherever they come from

Someone who values yourself and your special contribution

Abundant in your thinking – it is all out there waiting for you

Someone who knows how to influence others for the good of all

Patient – you know worthwhile things are worth waiting for

A student – you continue learning throughout your life

Prepared to question yourself and respond to your own self-review

It sounds aspirational doesn’t it? But it is something worth working towards and, if you wish we can work together on its development!

Wendy Smith is a career, life and business coach with depth of experience in management, coaching and personal development. That experience means she is equally at home helping clients find a new career direction, starting-up new businesses or dealing with life’s more challenging personal issues. You can book a discussion with Wendy about your coaching needs and your personal development at this link

Wendy has written a little eBook on how to get on with your boss and a book on job search – you can find her books on Amazon at this link

Bad leadership and the abuse of power! A leader can use his or her power to help others. But, of course the leader can also gain personally. In bad leadership, the obvious problem is that when self-interest rules, the leader gains but often at the followers’ expense.

Bad leadership, the deluded leader!

The dangerous thing is that leaders can begin to delude themselves about bad leadership. They start to believe that the rules that govern what is right and what is wrong, do not apply to them. They no longer have the best interests of their followers at heart.

Leaders can become “intoxicated” by power. They begin to do something unethical or take an unreasonable risk – just because they can! In bad leadership, they can become addicted to the adrenaline rush. Followers may begin to collude – it is OK; “He’s the boss!”

I’ve seen this kind of thing happen several times in large organizations and not always at top-level.

Sometimes it is someone in an unchallenged leadership position in a particular division. They are getting results so those further up the line choose not to ask questions. Sometimes, it is someone with particular intellectual capital (the subject matter expert). Or a scarce talent! Again it can be easier for “management” to look the other way.

Abuse of power can hapen anywhere

It does not happen just in large organisations. Abuse of power can happen anywhere! Eventually, the organisation suffers either in terms of legal challenge or financial loss from poor decision-making. The reputational loss can be considerable!

It happens less in organisations with resilient governance arrangements. Or in those bodies whose top leaders set an example of ethical and compassionate leadership.

But I fear that the present economic circumstances, a climate may be created in which the abuse of power is more not less likely to take place.

On the positive side, of course, power makes leaders more assertive and confident. They feel more certain of their decisions. This enables them to move forward towards their vision.

At the end of the day leaders and manager must be given the power to “get the job done.” But I’d welcome your views on how best to keep this to a healthy balance!

Wendy Smith is a career consultant, life coach and business coach with depth of experience in management, coaching and personal development. That experience means she is equally at home helping clients find a new career direction, starting-up new businesses or dealing with life’s more challenging personal issues. You can contact her at wendy@wisewolfcoaching.com

Wendy has written a little eBook on how to get on with your boss and a book on job search – you can find her books on Amazon at this link